Summary
The Tenth Court of Appeals of Texas affirmed Larson Edwin Moore III’s conviction for capital murder. The court held that the evidence was legally sufficient to establish burglary underlying the capital-murder conviction and rejected Moore’s argument that the State improperly bootstrapped the murder into the burglary. The court also held that the jury charge was not erroneous because it adequately submitted capital murder under the applicable Texas authorities.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the evidence was legally sufficient to support Moore's capital-murder conviction where the State relied on burglary of the victim's habitation as the aggravating felony.
- Whether the jury charge was erroneous because it did not instruct the jury that the burglary supporting capital murder had to be directed at someone other than the murdered victim.
Holdings
- The evidence was legally sufficient to support Moore's capital-murder conviction based on murder committed in the course of burglary of a habitation.
- The jury charge was not erroneous for failing to instruct that the burglary supporting capital murder had to be directed at someone other than the murdered victim.
Key quotations
“In determining whether the evidence is legally sufficient to support a conviction, a reviewing court must consider all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict and determine whether, based on that evidence and reasonable inferences therefrom, a rational fact finder could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” (p. 2)
“This conduct was a property offense. Thus, there was a showing of felonious criminal conduct other than the assault that caused the death of Pevehouse.” (p. 8)
Factual background
The victim, Marjorie Pevehouse, was found dead in her residence with multiple sharp-force and blunt-force injuries, and investigators observed damage to the door frame and a shoe print indicating possible forced entry. Moore appeared at his uncle's house with Pevehouse's blood on his clothing, later wrote, "I killed her," and acted violently and strangely. DNA and blood-pattern evidence indicated that Moore was present at the crime scene while Pevehouse sustained blood-letting injuries.
Procedural history
Moore was convicted by a jury of capital murder and sentenced by the trial court. He appealed, arguing that the evidence did not establish burglary as the predicate felony and that the jury charge failed to require that the burglary be directed at someone other than the murdered victim. The Tenth Court of Appeals overruled both issues and affirmed.